Insomnia
by Cerulean Pen
Summary: A Theonor one-shot, dedicated to Brave The Elements, who is coming back! Just a short story to express their special kind of love.


_**Insomnia**_

_**Summary: A T/E story, dedicated to Brave The Elements, the best T/E writer there ever was. Warning: Violence!**_

_**English Romance/Comfort Rated: T Chapters:1 Words:2,110 Theodore S. & Eleanor M. **_

_**Sleep.**_

**The word pounded against her ears, yet her mind was slow to comprehend it, useless to her exhausted brain, struck with insomnia.**

_**How unfair, how hideously unfair.**_

**Eleanor looked up at the ceiling, still trying to breathe steadily as the soft brown fur on her neck stood up, tickling the few inches of bare skin. Shivers wracked her chubby body, wrapping her stubby arms around herself, holding in any spark of heat that had once been in her. Streaks of nightmares still raced through her pounding head, with each memory, came an erratic heartbeat.**

_**Let the nightmare end now.**_

**Any thought of true sleep would be bliss, a thought of simply laying her head on the pillow, then falling into a normal sleep, no longer plagued with nightmares. Sweet luck that would be, not having to be jolted awake every few minutes by a prickly, anxious sensation in her legs, sweat soaking her furry forehead.**

_**Heartbeats echoing through her head.**_

**Eleanor let out a long shaky breath, not releasing the tight feeling in her chest, heart unable to stop pounding in the enclosed space in her ribs. Reality barely touched her mind, thin thread of dream hanging onto realism, always lingering fear. She felt her back arch, hands clenched into fists, head pushing deep into her pillow, breathing quick and shallow, breaking the silent night. **

_**Barely able to breathe.**_

**It burned inside of her, the awful truth to her bad dreams, how real they turned out, it had to occur during the few times that she could finally sink into a rough sleep. Eleanor turned in bed, letting a few tears leak onto her pillow, dried by her silky blond hair. The moment of intense pain had passed, leaving her physically exhausted, drained of needed energy. The clock next to her seemed to tick by too slowly, each second stretching to a minute, each minute to an hour. **

_**She was hunched over a strong surface, feeling the smooth, cold top against her bare knee, green nightgown in a puddle around her. At least nothing seemed to be happening, Eleanor thought, as she stood up, trying to recognize her surroundings. Empty black space above her, surface almost glass like, but opaque. It wasn't too cold or hot, simply an eerie electricity in the air, she felt her fur starting to stand up. **_

_**Then, the glass surface shattered beneath her feet, sending her spiraling through the air. Shards sailed by her, going down, but no noise came of it hitting the ground. Eleanor realized as she was falling down that there was no ground, just dark miles of empty air. She did her best to curl into a ball mid-air, waiting for something to happen.**_

_**She finally slammed into something hard, knocking the breath out of her. It was a few moments before she could see again, eyes adjusting to the darkness. Eleanor looked to the side, seeing a large door, at least eight feet high. It had a gold doorknob, edged in thin silver. Getting to her feet, she opened the door, finding that it wasn't locked. But, behind the door was a grisly scene.**_

_**Blood dripped from the narrow hall's ceiling, knife sticking out of the crumbling wall. Dark footprints led down the hall, and, with a trembling feet, she followed them. She went through many twists and turns, often coming to dead ends. It seemed like the further she went, the more blood splashed beneath her bare feet. Eleanor felt a little sick at the scene, red staining the soles of her feet. Suddenly, another door popped up, smaller then the first, doorknob bronze. Since there wasn't a chance of going back down the hall, she opened it.**_

_**This time, it was a dark room, just barely illuminated by a single candle, resting on top of a piano. Though it was empty, the piano was playing, keys moving up and down. She recognized it as Fur Elise, one of her favorite pieces to hear. If only she could figure out why it was playing itself. Eleanor slowly approached the bench, ever so gently sitting on the edge. Something pushed her off, landing straight on her back. A little afraid, she pushed against the wall, praying another door would appear. She fell through it, like the wall was a hologram. **_

_**It wasn't a room, just another spot of empty space. She felt the glass flooring on her knees again, still icy cold, like it was frosting over. Eleanor looked up, to see a little red light glowing on the ceiling. Instead of a rapid blinking, it simply glowed steadily, casting a red spotlight on the spot she was kneeled on. Aside from the light, everything was dark. Something flashed in the corner, reflecting off the infra red light. Her hand landed in something wet, oozing off of the glass surface. She gasped, knowing the liquid, even in the bad lighting. It was blood. The edge of her nightgown was already soaked, dripping. Breathing shallowly, Eleanor backed into the wall, praying it would swallow her again, sending her back into the piano room, anything would be better then this. **_

_**There was the whoosh of air beside her ear, a knife came hurtling from the corner, where she had seen a silver glint. An inch separated her blond hair from the wooden handle, blade so close to tearing her furry flesh. She pushed as hard as she could against the wall wishing it would disintegrate once more. Blood pounded behind her ear drums, paralyzed. There was the slightest rustling in the corner, like someone was waiting back there. Eleanor wished it would end, go ahead and plunge the knife into her, just end it. **_

_**A faint silhouette appeared from the crimson light, something clutched in its hand. The closer it got, she could see his face. Two eyes, yellow as rotten squash, sat close to together, pupils blood red. His nose wasn't there, just an indention between his eyes. A mouth, lined in red, lips pure white, teeth razor sharp. His face was shaped just like a potato, same color as well. The item in his hand was another knife, just like the one plunged into the wall. The man didn't speak nor move, just stood there, holding his weapon tightly.**_

_**Eleanor resisted to urge to vomit, instead felt her legs turn to lead, back pressing further into the wall. The anxiousness in the air was almost suffocating, not that she could breathe before. The demon-faced man edged ever so closer to her, arms and legs still not visible, just his mangled face. Then, with no warning, he lunged forward, beginning to slice at her arm with surprising strength, pale lips in a smirk, crimson pupils growing larger. Flesh spilled between them, blood pooling around her feet.**_

_**The pain that came from his violent slashes was so unimaginably real, throbbing forearm starting to glow red as he finished scooping hunks of skin from her chubby arm. He stood there, still failing to utter a noise. Just as he was about to stake his weapon into her chest, an unpleasant thudding sensation filled her, as if she had just fallen to the floor. Reality and nightmare started to intersect, fading lines of his face starting to mix in with the ceiling, blood alternating into a red cap, searing pain in her arm transforming into a sore bruise.**_

**Finally, Eleanor sat up on the floor, trying to tell if she was still in a dream or not. Alarm clock flashing her the time**_**, **_**wooden floorboards on her back, spring green blanket tangled around her body, forehead soaked with sweat. Visions of the demon-like creature still flashed by her eyes, blocking out most of her sight. She began to breathe again, which she realized she hadn't been doing until now. Her heartbeat was off the charts, frantically trying to escape her chest. Now, more then ever, she wished that it was daylight bringing her from the inky black depths of unforgiving night. **

**The mattress squeaked, signaling that someone was awake, coming from her very own bed. A pair of glowing hazel eyes appeared from over the side of the bed, concerned for her. "Ellie?" came the high voice of Theodore as he questioned her safety, holding out his hands to help her back up. **

**Eleanor couldn't believe how slow her mind was processing things, too tired to wholly comprehend things. She reached for his hands, surprised by the strength he had by pulling her back onto the safety of the bed. Breathing heavily, she waited a moment before talking, sinking in the comfort of the mattress. "Theo..." she gasped out, regaining physical control, "Theodore."**

**He put his arms around her as they laid down together, knowing how insomnia affected her behavior at night, not to mention generating some pretty bizarre nightmares that he could only read about, she would be too frightened to speak of them aloud. "It's okay, I'm here," he assured, stroking her tear stained cheek, feeling how soft and supple it was beneath his hand. **

**Eleanor put her face into his shoulder, trying not to erupt into loud sobs, hiccupping nervously as his dark green pajamas dried her tears. She wanted him to turn on a lamp, letting some light into the dark shadows haunting her usually sunny mind. But, she also didn't want to risk waking the others, it was already embarrassing enough she was crying into Theodore like a child. **

**Theodore kept his arms around her, holding on as long as he could before letting go, giving her some breathing room, time to clear her head before resuming her explanation of twisted nightmare. After awhile, he had grown accustomed to this routine, helping her at night when she fell out of bed in a dream-state panic. "Can you tell me what happened?" he asked soothingly, kissing her forehead, only to taste the extremely displeasing taste of sweat. He excused it, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his flannel sleep clothes. **

**Eleanor flipped onto her back, finding the position easier to speak in. "I was about to be killed..." she started uncertainly, feeling blissful heat rush to her frozen cheeks. "By a demon with a knife. After I fell through the wall from the piano room, he was in the red light, while I was on the glass floor."**

**Theodore stared bewildered at the ceiling a moment, just now thinking of what she had just explained to him. The entire thought seemed down-right dreadful and horrific, one of the worst things he could think of in a nightmare. In all he had read about her condition, never had he read results like the ones she experienced. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, putting his arms back around her for a brief hug. **

**She rolled onto her side, still attempting to erase the memories from her overwhelmed body, waiting for words to come from her, breaking the dark. "It's scary," Eleanor finally uttered, wishing that she could've said something more mature then that, but felt irritably vulnerable at the moment. "I just wish it would stop."**

**Theodore moved a little closer to her, wondering how long it took to become a Somolgist, and cure her disorder. "I wish it would stop too, I would do anything to help you sleep better at night. I care about you, Ellie, I just want you to be comfortable in life. Unfortunately, I'm not an expert about it."**

**Eleanor looked up at him, dark brown eyes glowing with an inhuman fear. "I'm not asking you to be an expert, I'm just glad that you've been with me all these sleepless nights. It means so much to me, thanks," she thanked, glad that her regular speech had returned. "I love you, Theo," she finally finished.**

**He felt his heart soar sky-high at her words, declaring her love for him. Something they were very rare to do, it always made him feel joyful. Theodore tucked the blanket back around her, kissing her cheek. "I love you too, Ellie."**

**He waited a moment, then, with a shocked hand, he felt her arm. Her whole body was moving up and down rhythmically, breathing regular. Without a doubt, Eleanor was sleeping. Theodore was gleeful when he kept his arms wrapped around her, smiling to himself.**

**"I love you, Eleanor."**

**What did you think? Nothing compared to "Perfection" or anything, but be truthful, I want to know what you really thought.**


End file.
